How to Play Risk

With over 40 years under its belt, Risk is one of the oldest and most popular strategy board games available today. The game itself is easy to learn, but some of the world's best players will tell you that it takes lots of practice and experience to master Risk. There is also a wealth of variants available, including Star Wars, Lord of the Rings and even a version set in a futuristic Earth.

Instructions

1. Choose your army's color and count out your starting army. This number will be different depending on the number of players. For example, you'll need 20 armies when playing a six-player game, but 35 if there are only 3 players.

2. Roll the dice to see who will place armies first. High roll wins.

3. Begin placing your starting armies, one at a time. Place a single army per territory, and only one army per turn. Continue placing armies until every territory has been occupied. Try to occupy whole continents as you receive army bonuses during your turn for complete ownership.

4. Reinforce your territories by placing up to 2 additional armies in them, one at a time in turn order. Some players vary this step by simply placing their armies where they wish to accelerate the setup process.

5. Roll the dice again to see who goes first during game play. Again, high score wins.

6. Begin your turn by taking reinforcements. You earn 1 army for every 3 territories you control, as well as for owning entire continents (multiple territories of the same color). You may also choose to turn in territory cards at this point for additional armies.

7. Choose a territory to attack, and choose from where you plan on attacking it. Once chosen, move your combatant armies into the enemy territory.

8. Roll to determine who wins the battle. High number always wins, and ties are awarded to the defender.

9. Stop or continue attacking as long as you have enough armies to press the attack.

10. Play until 1 player has conquered every territory. That player is declared the winner.

11. Visit the Boardgame Geek website to purchase Risk or find helpful strategies (see Resources below).

Tips & Warnings

• Conquer "choke points." These are territories that border few enemy territories. These choke points will make it easier to attack deeper into enemy territory without a higher risk of counterattack along your border.

• Don't spread your forces too thin by becoming over ambitious. Looking at the board now may show your enemy has only a few forces, but remember that through conquest, continental control and the use of cards, their forces can expand dramatically and capitalize on your error.

Resources

• Visit Boardgame Geek to purchase Risk or find game strategy